rranged his
disordered hair. He was one of those men who may be stunned, but never
crushed, by a catastrophe. "In conclusion," he muttered, "I must enter
my forty thousand francs as an item in the profit and loss account. It
only remains to be seen if it would not be possible to regain them in
the same affair." He was again master of himself, and never had his mind
been more clear. He seated himself at his desk, leant his elbows upon
it, rested his head on his hands, and remained for some time perfectly
motionless; but there was triumph in his gesture when he at last looked
up again.

"I am safe," he muttered, so low that Chupin could not hear him. "What a
fool I was! If there is no will a fourth of the millions shall be mine!
Ah, when a man knows his ground, he never need lose the battle! But I
must act quickly," he added, "very quickly." And so speaking, he rose
and glanced at the clock. "Nine o'clock," said he. "I must open the
campaign this very evening."

Motionless in his dark corner, Chupin still retained his commiserating
attitude; but he was so oppressed with curiosity that he could scarcely
breathe. He opened his eyes and ears to the utmost, and watched his
employer's slightest movements with intense interest.

Prompt to act when he had once decided upon his course, M. Fortunat now
drew from his desk a large portfolio, crammed full of letters, receipts,
bills, deeds of property, and old parchments. "I can certainly discover
the necessary pretext here," he murmured, rummaging through the mass of
papers. But he did not at once find what he sought, and he was growing
impatient, as could be seen by his feverish haste, when all at once he
paused with a sigh of relief. "At last!"

He held in his hand a soiled and crumpled note of hand, affixed by a
pin to a huissier's protest, thus proving conclusively that it had been
dishonored. M. Fortunat waved these strips of paper triumphantly, and
with a satisfied air exclaimed: "It is here that I must strike; it is
here--if Casimir hasn't deceived me--that I shall find the indispensable
information I need."

He was in such haste that he did not wait to put his portfolio in order.
He threw it with the papers it had contained into the drawer of his
desk again, and, approaching Chupin, he asked, "It was you, was it not,
Victor, who obtained that information respecting the solvency of the
Vantrassons, husband and wife, who let out furnished rooms?"

"Yes, monsieur, and I